2nd Test: New Zealand unchanged in bid to hit back against England

New Zealand have opted for an unchanged lineup for the second Test against England, starting Friday in Wellington, as they aim to bounce back after their first Test defeat. The team decided against recalling batsman Will Young or including a specialist spinner.

England announced their unchanged XI a day earlier, having won the series opener in Christchurch by eight wickets.

New Zealand's attack will feature four seamers. This is despite spin playing a key role in the last Test match at the Basin Reserve.

Nathan Lyon took ten wickets for Australia in their 172-run victory over New Zealand in March at the same venue. England's off-spinner Shoaib Bashir also took four first-innings wickets in the recent Christchurch Test.

New Zealand captain Tom Latham explained the decision to leave out specialist spinner Mitchell Santner, who performed well in their recent 3-0 series win in India.




Latham anticipates the green pitch will favour pace bowlers. He mentioned all-rounders Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra as alternative spin options if the pitch deteriorates.

"We saw last time that the wicket took a little bit of spin and that surprised us a little bit," Latham told reporters.

Latham expressed confidence in the team's chosen balance for the Wellington pitch, citing recent first-class matches played there. He also pointed to spin bowling options within the top seven batsmen.

"But going by this surface and the first-class games played here, the balance we’ve gone in with is right for this wicket. We have some spin options in the top seven anyway," Latham added.

Will Young, who was named player of the series against India, scored 244 runs at an average of nearly 50. However, a recovered Kane Williamson took his place in Christchurch.

Devon Conway and Tom Blundell retained their spots despite recent struggles with form.

"Will (Young) obviously played fantastically well in India and certainly did nothing wrong," Latham said. "Having someone like Kane coming back into the fold obviously speaks for itself. Youngy’s a great team man and he’ll be ready to go if his opportunity comes up in this series."

Playing XIs for second Test:
New Zealand: Tom Latham (capt), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Will O'Rourke

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes (capt), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir


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